let me count the ways
by OhBreadsticks
Summary: The moment she stepped off that blasted well, Inuyasha was more than ready to tell her that yes, he had missed her and yes,he maybekindasortanotreallybutactually loved her. 14 themes.


**title:** hey, soul sister  
**author: **OhBreadsticks  
**pairings:** Good ol' canon  
**sum:** Somewhere between kittens and poisonous herbs, Inuyasha realized that he loved Kagome. Seriously.  
**warning: **It's 7-freaking-am, and I haven't slept yet. Random title, and even more of a random fic. You have been warned.  
**disclaimer: **Me no own Inuyasha.

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* * *

**1. Safe**

As a typical teenage girl with her head full of unrealistic stories of dashing men who wore open chested shirts more than it was really necessary or practical, Kagome always swooned at the thought of being saved by her own knight in shining armor (_okay, so maybe it's a shining __**sword**__, but who the hell cares?)_ and being thrown out of harm's way, but _this,_ this was just ridiculous.

"It's a kitten, Inuyasha."

"That _kitten_ almost ripped your hand out!"

"_He licked my finger!"_

"Keh! He was checking if you tasted like chicken."

* * *

**2. Fail**

Inuyasha stared at the wrecked and mangled remains of what was once Kagome's new bicycle. The two wheels had been twisted beyond recognition, and claw marks marked the once unblemished and shiny iron of the ride. The hanyou couldn't, for the life of him, understand how he only intended to wipe of a smudge of dirt on the seat and ended up mangling it like it was Naraku's remains in less than two minutes.

From behind his frozen - but occasionally twitching in a way that was concerning - form, Miroku shook his head and spoke with a voice full of unconcealed mirth.

"What was that saying from Lady Kagome's world...? Ah yes, 'you fail'." Inuyasha's hand twitched.

Ten minutes later, when Kagome, Sango and Shippo returned from their bath, they found themselves staring at a mumbling Inuyasha, who seemed to be dragging Miroku's unconscious body to hide it in the woods, kicking something shiny and silver behind a nearby bush.

* * *

**3. Win**

Every now and then, Rin would sit under the shade of the forest trees and giggle softly behind the back of her hand as she enjoyed the sight of Kagome running through the flower fields, hitching the hem of her hakama up and laughing merrily as she ran past a bundle of twigs lined up. She would turn around with a heaving breath and cup her hands around her lips, yelling out to the red and white figure at the end of the hill.

"Come on, Inuyasha! Winning is no fun when you make it too easy for me!"

* * *

**4. Start**

They didn't begin building their house with extravagant ideas and heated discussions of what room would be bigger than the other. They started off with helping villagers who gave them supplies, old friends clad in wolf fur to help doing the heavy lifting, and discreetly entwined hands to decide how many spare rooms would be built for future use.

* * *

**5. Finish**

Somewhere between rinsing the third plate and scrubbing the fourth, Inuyasha's ears perked up and turned to listen the hiss of the monk's fuudas cutting through wind and the howl of a youkai. Wrinkling his nose and twitching it twice for good measure, he could conclude, with certainty, that it was a rabbit youkai.

"Kagome-"

"You know the rules. No youkai-slaying until you finish the dishes."

* * *

**6. Open**

"Hurry up!" "I can't!" "Oh, for heaven's sake, Inuyasha, just turn it!" "Keh! If it were that simple, you have done it easily, wouldn't you wench?" "I can't believe this! You can't even help me out with this little thing, what kind of marriage is this-" "-damn it, wench, stop over reacting-" "-I mean, I don't even ask you for much -" "-Will you stop bickering and get me a rag? My palms are sweaty - " "-I let you go around, do your demon-slaying for kicks. I only ask you small things - " "- you still won't shut up about that?! I'm trying my best - " "all you do is hunt, slay, bring food and protect us - " "- Kagome, you're not helping - !" "-and you can't even do this simple thing of-" "-goddamn it, woman, it's not my fault the damn pickle jar won't open!"

* * *

**7. Close**

Kagome never dared to cry during the agonizing three years that passed since the well closed. The pain came, surely, specially when she was alone with her thoughts and memories, the feeling of claws tearing at her chest, the emptiness clutching at her heart, and in those moments, all she wanted was to hold him and breathe his scent once again.

But she would never cry. Kagome's greatest fear, other than forgetting about him, was that one day, _when _he returned, he would find her crying, and he would scoff and at her and say,

"C'mon wench. Don't tell me you wasted your vacations crying over nothing."

* * *

**8. Up**

It was a bright, sunny day outside, an afternoon fitting of July, with the cicadas ringing through the fields, and the sound of the river's water running down the forest. It was a perfect day to be outside in the fresh breeze and under the blue skies without a cloud to ruin their day, so naturally, when Kagome had been squinting at an herb to discern it from a poisonous plant that was very much alike the one before her if it weren't for the dots under the leaves - she did not expect for the sun to be covered from behind her. After a few seconds looking at the shadow engulfing her and the wilderness surrounding her that seemed to have two twitching triangles, she leaned back and drummed her fingers against her red-clad thighs.

"You're blocking the sun, Inuyasha." And the next thing she knew, she was being thrown up and over her husband's shoulder as he walked back towards the village.

"Keh. Too bad, Kagome. It's lunch time."

* * *

**9. Down**

In Kaede's opinion, ever since Kagome returned, both the miko and the young hanyou became attached to the hip, never staying away from the other for too long, always going where the other went. Not that this upset Kaede, far from it. The young woman's presence semeed to calm the Inuyasha's spirit that had already matured in the past three years. The young man now walked with a more relaxed stance, and he looked younger, without the creases of his ever-present frown and the darkness that loomed in his eyes. Aye, Lady Kagome seemed to have passed some of her patience and kind to the hanyou.

But she also seemed to have inherited his stupidity.

"Lady Kagome, get down from that tree at once unless ye want to get thyself killed before you marry thy hanyou, I do not care how savoury the tree's fruit looks, thou art not with child, ergo thou does't not have the excuse of behaving like this to fulfill cravings!"

* * *

**10. White**

It was in these rare moments that Kagome truly appreciated being of Japanese culture as she ran her fingers down the red silk that was carefully removed from a parcel. Trembling fingertips traced the beautiful golden patterns sown on the fabric, watching as the light coming from the window illuminated the kimono fabric in numerous shades of gold, red and dark blue.

In that precise moment, Kagome could not imagine how so many women enjoyed getting married in white.

* * *

**11. Black**

He really couldn't care if any villager passing by laughed _(he also knew they wouldn't __**dare**__)_ at the scene before them. So far, all the reactions they got were giggles from little girls and warm chuckles from reminiscing old couples. Again, Inuyasha didn't care. All he could see was the silver comb carefully held in his hand as it ran through her tresses, her wavy strands spilling through his fingers like black ink.

Picking up the ribbon held in his teeth, Inuyasha began to braid his wife's hair like his mother used to when she wanted to pull her hair away from her neck in the summer.

* * *

**12. Day**

The sun began to rise in the horizon, and Kagome just sat, mesmerized as each black strand turned into a silvery white, his dark brown _(blue - she repeated to herself - you noticed they were blue)_ eyes shifted into a smoldering golden hue, his nails and fangs turned from blunt to long and sharp and his stance became more graceful.

In the early hours of the morning, Kagome _actually_ saw Inuyasha transform from start to finish for the first time since she knew him. His smoldering eyes were on her and his claws were running softly through her palms.

"I'm not ashamed anymore."

* * *

**13. Night**

During the day, she was the miko they all cherished and loved. She was the woman who could protect them from evil spirits and demonic auras. During the day she would fight by his side, and he would let them, because that was the way they worked.

But let night come, and he could not be happier to hold her in his arms as she slept peacefully, relieved that at least at night, she would let him protect her.

* * *

**14. Off**

The moment she stepped off that blasted well, Inuyasha was more than ready to tell her that _yes,_ he had missed her and _yes_, loved her.


End file.
